The Military Engineer Fra Antoine Etienne de Tousard (1751-1813): A Loyal Hospitaller or Traitor?

Fleur Brincat pursued her studies in health science, graduating with honours as a Physiotherapist in 2002 from the University of Malta. Nevertheless, her passion for History, intensified by her several travels to numerous historical places, would motivate her to work on a Masters programme in Baroque Studies, which she completed with distinction in 2010. Wanting to understand the Order of St John in greater depth, Fleur read for a second Masters in Hospitaller Studies at the Faculty of History, again obtaining a distinction in 2014. She has to date published a paper in the ‘Journal of Monastic Military Orders’, and an academic work on the Bali de Tigné under the auspices of the Baroque Institute. Fleur contributes as events co-ordinator in the Order of St Lazarus and the Malta University Historical Society.

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Sponsored by the Alfred Mizzi Foundation. The French military engineer and Hospitaller Antoine Etienne de Tousard (1751-1813) was summoned to Malta by Grand Master de Rohan in 1791, at a very critical time when both the Order of St John and France were greatly affected by the upheavals of the French Revolution. Despite his novel contribution to Malta’s military architecture, a legacy in stone known as Fort Tigné, Tousard has come down in history as one of the traitors to the Order of St John together with Bosredon Ransijat, Louis-Ovide Doublet, Antoine René Bardonnenche and Charles du Fay among others. This lecture will present a detailed study on the identity of the Order of St John’s last military engineer, his military contributions to Malta and whether the accusation of treason to the Order of St John, which tarnished his honour, was indeed one such (or possibly ‘well founded’).

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